Sunday, 10 October 2010

Jihad And Soup?

The Leftist blogosphere has been in a state of smarmy amusement in recent days as opposition has risen in some quarters to American food company Campbell's producing a line of halal soup. Leftists sneer at the "neocons" who they say are trying to claim that introducing halal soup is the latest step on the path to the Islamisation of the West.The Economist, for example, describes a campaign to boycott Campbell's as "ludicrous and hateful", and refers to other opposition to the move as "bigotry", an "ugly wave of anti-Muslim hysteria", "shaming" and "infantile". And yet, this same piece even admits that the primary reason for the objections lies in the fact that "the body certifying the soups as halal has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood."

As you can see at the link to Campbell's above, the halal products "are certified by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest non-profit, religious, educational, and non-political Islamic organization in North America. ISNA's Halal Certification Program was established in conjunction with professionals in the field of Islamic foods and nutrition, and with Islamic scholars. The program includes the review of ingredients, formulas, manufacturing and sanitation processes."

This is not a case of bigoted hysteria over Muslims getting their own soup. No one can reasonably object to that (unless, of course, we end up getting it, too, without even realising). The issue is that Campbell's is getting halal certification from ISNA.

And, aside from the platitudes of Campbell's treacly advertisement, who are ISNA? Why, they are the "moderate" Islamic group that supports and funds Hamas terrorists. They are also named (see here, the final page) by the Muslim Brotherhood as one of its key allies in its mission: "eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions." (page 21)

Is it really bigotry to object to a major food company doing dealings with groups that support people who want to exterminate Jews and replace Western democracies with Islamic theocracies? Or are the Leftists just showing us whose side they're really on yet again?